1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a retina chip, and more particularly, relates to a light-driven retina chip.
2. The Prior Arts
According to the statistics of World Health Organization (WHO), over 4.5 million of the population in the world is suffering with eye diseases, and the number of population with eye disease is estimated to increase drastically to 7.6 million in 2020.
In a sequence from front to back, the following parts of an eyeball form the structure thereof: cornea, pupil, lens, vitreous body and retina. The light that is focused by the vitreous body is converted into electric signals and chemical signals by the retina first; subsequently, the signals are transmitted to the brain through the optic nerve, thereby allowing human beings to see images.
A retina has a rather complicated structure, which can be substantially divided into three different layers. When the light enters the retina, it is to pass through a clear outer layer and a clear middle layer first before reaching an innermost layer of the photoreceptor cells. The photoreceptor cell will convert the light signal into electric signals and chemical signals, and the converted signals are transmitted to the cells at the middle layer for subsequent processing. Processed signals are then transmitted to the ganglion cells located at the outermost layer first before being transmitted back to the brain.
If the photoreceptor cells of a retina are damaged, one could experience loss of vision. Retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration are two types of commonly seen visual disorders, and both of them can be improved with retina chips.
Referring to FIG. 1, a pair of specially crafted glasses 11, which is equipped with a miniature camera 12, must be worn by a user using a conventional retina chip. The miniature camera 12 converts any light signal captured into electric signals, and transmits the electric signals to the processing chip 14 attached next to the ear of the user via the wire 13. The processing chip 14 then converts the electric signals into electric pulse signals, which are readable by the ganglion cells. After the electric pulse signals are encoded, they are transmitted to a decoding chip 15 embedded under the skin at the back of the ear. Subsequently, the decoded signals are transmitted to enter the eyeball via a wire 16, which is embedded under the facial skin and is connected to the eye orbit. Finally, the decoded signals are transmitted to an electrode plate 17 that is attached to the ganglion cells at the outermost layer of the retina. A battery box 18 connected with the pair of specially crafted glasses 11 serves as the power source of the miniature camera 12 and the processing chip 14. As for the electrode plate 17 attached to the retina and the decoding chip 15, electricity can be provided when the signal is transmitted thereto in the form of radio waves.
Referring to FIG. 2, a pair of specially crafted glasses 21 is also required for a user who is using a new generation retina chip. Similarly, the pair of specially crafted glasses 21 is equipped with a miniature camera 22 and a processing chip 23. The processing chip 23 is able to convert the electric signals transmitted by the miniature camera 22 into optical pulse signals, and then directly emit the light pulse signals to an electrode plate 24 that is embedded under the photoreceptor cells. The electrode plate 24 is manufactured with otpoelectrical materials, thus it is able to directly convert light pulse signals into electric pulse signals. The electric pulse signals are then transmitted to the cells at the middle layer of the retina for subsequent processing, and the processed signals are transmitted to the brain by the ganglion cells to be integrated. Since the processing chip 23 is also manufactured with otpoelectrical materials, it can generate electricity upon the receiving of light; as a result, users no longer need to carry a battery box around all the time. Compared with the retina chip described in the above section, the new generation retina chip is much more convenient.
Although the otpoelectrical material based processing chip is able to receive light signals and generate electricity utilizing the received light signals, performing the two functions at the same time is likely to cause failure in the recognition of the light signals, which would further compromise the recognition results of the retina chip. Therefore, it is an urgent need for the industry to develop a retina chip that can generate electricity with light signals while maintaining a high recognition effect.